Obama and the Environment: What He Can Do: Atlantic Oil Drilling

A feasibility study assessing oil drilling in open waters along the entire Atlantic coast – everywhere from Delaware to Florida – is under way. If approved, it could mean oil rigs placed just offshore of fragile beach ecosystems and the risk of a Deepwater Horizon-like spill in the most densely populated vacation spots in the country. Instead of letting the oil survey go any further, the president can embrace the Atlantic as a haven for healthy fisheries and clean waters. "We have more coastline than any other country, and fish is the healthiest protein on the planet," says Andy Sharpless, CEO of Oceana, the world's largest nonprofit for ocean conservation. "We ought to be doing everything we can to make sure it's well managed and abundant." Besides, he says, "the price of gasoline at the pump isn't determined by the amount of domestic drilling. Canada, which exports oil, pays the same price that we do."